Trader Joe’s Two-Buck Chuck Taste Test

How does a $2.99 bottle of red wine from Trader Joe’s compare to a pricier competitor?

CBS MoneyWatch recently conducted a totally unscientific but still interesting taste off, with random people asked to sample both Trader Joe’s vino and a similar red wine—which, admittedly, isn’t a high end wine either. (The “pricier” one cost just $7.99 a bottle.)

Folks also compared Trader Joe’s chocolate chips to a name brand product. So what were the results? Plenty of tasters preferred the cheaper Trader Joe’s products. And most of those who preferred the pricier options said that they were only marginally better—and weren’t worth paying a premium for.

Obviously, this all comes down to personal preference. Interestingly enough, another MoneyWatch post puts Two-Buck Chuck down on the list of things NOT to buy at Trader Joe’s, citing the blunt opinion of one wine expert:

“A lot of people are saying that this stuff is as good as anything else. It’s not. It’s just crap.”